November...Memory Lane

My JuJu bean turned 2 this month.  And she is a chatty, passionate, expressive little thing.  Have you ever heard of the Five Love Languages?  Julia is hands down our touch baby.  She is the one I pick up from school, and right when she sees me she yells, "MOMMY!" and comes barreling to me for the biggest of hugs.  When she loves she loves, with everything she is made of.

For her birthday, in our attempt to get back to eating right (lets just say Florida was about a hundred and two steps backwards in our grain-free, refined sugar free lifestyle) we made a Vanilla Bean Cake.    When Derek swung home from lunch the day of Julia's birthday, I had beans cooking on the stove.  A little insight into our conversation.

Me: "Did I tell you I am making Jewels birthday cake from beans?"

Derek looks skeptically into the pot cooking the white northern beans for her cake.

Derek: "Do I need to pick up a real birthday cake on the way home?"

Me: "What do you mean?  This is going to be a real birthday cake, just made of beans."

Derek is looking at me like my head is detached, and I can see him churning his wording around in his head as to what to say without offending me.

Derek:"Yes, but it's her birthday.  Don't we need her to have a real cake to put candles into?"

Me: "It is a real cake, just made of beans.  Do you want me to show you a picture?"

Derek: "yeah."

I show him the picture, and he starts laughing.

Derek: "Oh I see.  I thought you were just going to spread beans on a plate, layer it with cheese and sour cream and put candles in it."

It did look like a real cake, tasted like a real cake, and was devoured by all of us like a real cake.  The frosting was a mess, but it tasted great.

Julia even helped me make her cake.

At the end of the month, at Thanksgiving we attempted to get a cousin shot.  With seven kids ranging from 11 months to 8 years, it is near impossible.  But we gave it a go.  This is the best I got, not sure about the others :)

Cracks me up Julia is talking on a phone.  Cole's eye is a little puffy, because there was a little cousin rough housing, and Cole got an elbow, knee, or head bump to his eye.  We just called him Spot for the next couple of days.

One more month, and then we enter the New Year!  Whoop Whoop!

Memory Lane...August

In August the summering continued.  The kids ran free.  I went grain and refined sugar free and was doing really well until our Florida vacation in October.  Websites like  Wellness Mama and Spunky Coconut (she has a cookbook I am longing for) are great places for some great easy recipes. The Spunky Coconut site has some great cookie, donut (I love these), and treat type food that satisfies the desire for the sweet tooth I try so valiantly to ignore. I was pretty strict the whole month of August, and when I had sugar after that it made me feel sick...what does that prove?  Now we don't even have white sugar in the house.  I find the kids, and Derek and I's moods and behavior are so much more even, and nice without sugar and processed food.   

But anywho,  August....

The month I forgot I was the owner of a camera apparently.

A cousin got married, which gave us an excuse to dress up, and dance.  The reception was a fun outside event, with an area for the kids to play.  How great is that? 

Julia will be remembered on that day as having a really bad hair day...

(excuse the baldie in the back, I couldn't crop him out with out lobbing off part of our heads.)

Nick and his girlfriend Susie flew home from California for the wedding.  It was so nice to see both of my brothers in less than three weeks. 

Sibling love. 

We should have known trying to get a picture of Julia with a plate food in front of her was going to result in just that, a picture of Julia eating, and Aunt Lolo cheesing.

Cole getting in some quality Papa time.  

 

Cole showing us his moves like Jagger.

And Julia following suit.

At the end of the month rolled around school began.  I know I took pictures of them on their first day of school, but can not seem to find them.  Hmmm.  

to be continued....